The Shoulder

Technique:

• The patient lies supine, the arm slightly abducted (45-90°).
• The examiner rotates the shoulder slowly in a lateral direction until an "apprehensive feeling" is experienced (shoulder tends to dislocate).
• If the examiner then applies a strong posterior stress to the humerus, the patient will lose the apprehension and further lateral rotation will be possible without any further apprehension.

Meaning

Test for anterior instability: The posterior stress to the humerus makes the shoulder more stable. More lateral rotation possible without tendency to dislocate the shoulder.